Antennas, the devices that emit (radiate) and receive electromagnetic radiation, have become progressively more important in the modern world. Even though many, if not most, antennas today are “invisible,” literally out-of-sight because they are imbedded in other devices, their numbers are ever increasing in all manner of wireless machines ranging from cell phones, to laptop computers, to M2M (machine-to-machine) devices as representative examples, not an exhaustive list. In many cases antenna performance limits how well its associated device works. Oftentimes the limitation is bandwidth-related, which may constrain data rates or throughput, thereby limiting, for example, how quickly an image might display or a web page takes to load. The limitation also may relate to some other antenna performance measure, or combination thereof, such as, for example, radiation pattern or efficiency, sidelobe level, and so on, as representative not exhaustive. Industry experts point out that progressively better antennas are required to meet modern communication requirements. As an example, demand for bandwidth is projected to more than triple year over year, and there is consensus that better antennas are a key element in meeting it. (See “Mobile bandwidth crunch causing concern for innovation, extra pay” by Jim Shakenbach, Mass High Tech Magazine, Wednesday, Jul. 6, 2011, at pp. 8-9 (print edition), published by American City Business Journals.
Traditional design or optimization (“D/O”) paradigms, methods, techniques, algorithms, frameworks, approaches, processes, or procedures (collectively and individually hereinafter “methodology”) view the antenna feed system characteristic impedance or the apparatus internal impedance, denoted herein Z0, as a fixed parameter with a constant value specified at the start of the methodology, even if multiple parametric values are employed. Z0 therefore is not a variable quantity whose value is determined by the methodology. This distinction is subtle but extremely important, because traditional methodology automatically excludes from the outset all antenna system configurations that could provide better performance by using some other value of Z0.
What is needed is a system and method that provides antenna devices with improved performance specifications, including, but not limited to, impedance bandwidth (IBW). Variable Z0 System and Method addresses this need.